Shoot!
By Zachary Fernebok
Zachary Fernebok
A storyteller at heart, Zachary Fernebok thrives in the creation of theatre. As a playwright, Zach has had plays produced with Flying V, American Ensemble Theatre, Mutineer Theatre Company, The National Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts, Infinite Stage, Forum (Re)Acts, Rorschach Theatre’s Klecksography, and the Bethesda Play-in-a-Day. He is best known for and most proud of his series The Pirate Laureate of Port Town and The Pirate Laureate and the King of the Sea. Zach also served as American Ensemble Theatre’s Playwright-in-Residence for two years. As an actor, he has appeared on stage with a handful of local companies, most recently including Flying V and Pointless Theatre Company. He is a proud company member of Flying V. His work can be further explored at www.ZacharyFernebok.com.
Based on “Ballad of a Comeback Kid” by The New Pornographers
Seamus: Describe the genesis of this piece. How’d you get from song to script?
Zachary: I chose the song “Ballad of a Comeback Kid” because I felt the title alone told a story. While I like the song, the only lyrics that really struck me were the ones that influenced the title. So I just sat on the title for a while until the idea came to me. I think the script was also influenced by some other media I had been absorbing at the time, but the heart of the play still beats to the tune of the title of the song.
Zachary: I didn’t realize I was writing “Jewish Noir” until someone coined the phrase during the first read-through of the script. I knew I wanted to have some Jewish elements to the play since the show is partnering with the JCC, and I think when I’m not writing fantasy, my go-to genre is noir/murder mystery. I think because, like fantasy, it lends itself well to heightened circumstances and characters.
Seamus: High-stakes rule-based combat is an element that figures heavily in Shoot, and it also pops up in your Pirate Laureate plays, where pirates settle disputes with poetry battles. What attracts you about revisiting that idea?
Zachary: I honestly didn’t draw that parallel until being asked this question. Very interesting! I love watching battles of wits, so that’s what I write. Generally, if you see a strong-looking person in a physical fight, you can guess his or her odds of winning, but in a game of chance it’s not so easy. I like that.
Zachary: Drawing. The best characters I’ve ever written (or performed as) have been drawn countless times. That’s how I brainstorm. That’s when I think and riff off ideas. My style of drawing also includes a lot of sharp angles and grotesque features, which inspires more evil than good.
Seamus: What’s another song, New Pornographers or otherwise, that you’d like to make into a short play?
Zachary: My favorite song of theirs is “Adventures in Solitude.” But I have so much real-world emotional connection to that song, a short play probably could not do it justice. In fact, I love the song so much I’m afraid anything I wrote would ruin it!
